Quantifying southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) reactions to a quadcopter drone in central California
Colleen Young, Julie L. Yee, Gena Bentall, Michelle M. Staedler, Lilian P. Carswell, Margaret Daly
2026, Marine Mammal Science (42)
Drones are useful for wildlife research and management, but they can cause disturbance and harassment to wildlife. Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) are candidates for drone-based observation and monitoring but are vulnerable to disturbance. No studies have evaluated drone effects on sea otter behavior, but based on prior disturbance studies, we...
VegET evapotranspiration for Africa: Continental-scale simulation, multi-product evaluation, and drought assessment
Komlavi Akpoti, Naga Manohar Velpuri, Mansoor Leh, Stefanie Kagone, Kirubel Mekonnen, Afua Owusu, Mulugeta Tadesse, Paranamana T. Prabhath, Lahiru Madushanka, Tharindu Perera, Gabriel Edwin Lee Parrish, Vinay Nangia, Souleymane Sy, Jan Bliefernicht, Samuel Guug, Abdulkarim Seid, Gabriel B. Senay
Gabriel B. Senay, editor(s)
2026, Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies (66)
Study regionContinental Africa, encompassing diverse climatic zones—tropical, arid, and temperate—and spanning major transboundary river basins such as the Nile, Niger, Congo, Volta, and Zambezi River Basins. The region exhibits pronounced hydroclimatic gradients and heterogeneous land use systems ranging from rainfed croplands and rangelands...
Evaluation of stream capture related to groundwater pumping, middle Humboldt River Basin, Nevada
Kyle W. Davis, William G. Eldridge, Kip K. Allander, David E. Prudic, Murphy A. Gardner, Michael T. Pavelko, Cara A. Nadler
2026, Professional Paper 1906
Historical, future, and potential stream capture from groundwater pumping in the middle Humboldt River Basin (MHRB), Nevada, is estimated using a calibrated numerical groundwater flow model. The model was developed to estimate (1) stream capture, which is the change in flux between the groundwater system and the Humboldt River and...
Predictable seismic cycles result from structural rupture barriers on oceanic transform faults
Jianhua Gong, Wenyuan Fan, Jeffrey J. McGuire, Mark D. Behn, Jessica M. Warren, Emily Roland, M. S. Boettcher, J. A. Collins, Y. Liu, C. R. German
2026, Science (392) 718-723
Earthquakes of magnitude (M) >5.5 on oceanic transform faults (OTFs) repeatedly rupture the same locked patches, sometimes quasiperiodically. These patches are separated by “barriers” that halt earthquake propagation and slip mostly aseismically. However, the physical processes governing this systematic behavior remain unclear. We analyzed two barriers along the Gofar transform...
Syn-magmatic subsidence during the early stages of continental rifting in the Mesoproterozoic—A reanalysis of legacy data for the Midcontinent Rift, western Lake Superior
V. J. Grauch, Laurel G. Woodruff, Samuel J. Heller, Esther K. Stewart
2026, Geosphere
The Midcontinent Rift system (ca. 1.1 Ga) is a 2000-km-long series of elongated volcanic and sedimentary troughs and associated intrusive centers exposed chiefly in the Lake Superior region of North America. The rift system represents a long history of intense magmatism and subsequent sedimentation that was arrested by far-field tectonic...
Practical guidance for engaging end-users and experts in developing scientific tools
Kaylin R. Clements, James J. English, Emily J. Wilkins, Megan A. Moore, Rudy Schuster
2026, Scientific Investigations Report 2026-5137
This report provides actionable guidance for scientists developing scientific tools that inform on-the-ground decision making. Scientific tools, in the context of this report, are technology or protocols that help practitioners collect and analyze their own data, and information products and web tools that practitioners could use to inform decisions. Engaging...
Timing, uncertainty, and opportunity cost: Lessons for ecosystem modification on the Colorado River
Pierce Donovan, Lucas Bair, Matthew N. Reimer, Michael R. Springborn, Charles B. Yackulic
2026, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management (139)
While conservation goals have long been pursued through traditional species-augmenting actions, a broader set of episodic ecosystem modification (EEM) actions, such as hydropower dam releases, prescribed fire, and beach nourishment, is garnering attention. EEM actions face several implementation challenges stemming from high opportunity costs, delayed effect mechanisms, reliance on monitoring...
Integrating mark-recapture, catch, and expert habitat assessments to quantify recent increases in humpback chub abundance over a 200 km long river segment of the Colorado River in western Grand Canyon
Maria C. Dzul, David R. Van Haverbeke, Kirk Young, Charles B. Yackulic, Pilar Rinker, Michael D. Yard
2026, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (83) 1-13
Humpback chub, Gila cypha, were historically distributed throughout large portions of the Colorado River basin and were federally listed in 1967. In the Grand Canyon segment of the Colorado River, located below Glen Canyon Dam, chub abundances continued to decline through the early 2000s. Recently, catch has increased substantially, especially in the...
Storm surge barriers reduce seaward sediment supply to lagoonal estuaries
David K. Ralston, Philip M. Orton, John C. Warner, Shima Kasaei
2026, Earth's Future (14)
Numerical simulations with realistic forcing of fixed infrastructure for a proposed storm surge barrier for a lagoonal estuary, Jamaica Bay (New York, USA), are analyzed during typical forcing conditions to assess alterations to flow and sediment transport with the barrier open. Lagoonal estuaries are shallow and have modest watershed freshwater...
Salinas Valley integrated hydrologic and reservoir operations models, Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties, California
Wesley R. Henson, Randy Hanson, Scott Boyce, Joseph Hevesi, Marisa M. Earll, Deidre M. Herbert, Elizabeth R. Jachens
2026, Scientific Investigations Report 2026-5005
The area surrounding the Salinas Valley groundwater basin in Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties of California is a highly productive agricultural area, contributes substantially to the local economy, and provides a substantial portion of vegetables and other agricultural commodities to the Nation. This region of California provides about half...
Toxicity of synergized permethrin residues in cattle dung to two temperate dung beetle species after application of common livestock pour-on treatment
Michael C. Cavallaro, Michelle L. Hladik, Rodrigo Soares, Mikaela Anderson, W. Wyatt Hoback
2026, Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Environment (408)
Essential to pasture health, dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) provide key ecosystem services across natural and managed rangeland habitats. Insecticide residues in livestock dung can negatively impact dung beetle populations, and synergized pyrethroid products are commonly used to combat resistant pest fly populations. Here, permethrin residues were measured by GC-MS/MS in...
Top Elevation of Glacial Till and Thickness of the Big Sioux Aquifer Delineated From Electrical Resistivity Tomography Surveys Near Sioux Falls, South Dakota, 2022 and 2025
Colton J. Medler, Todd M. Anderson
2026, Scientific Investigations Report 2026-5023
The City of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, requested the U.S. Geological Survey perform electrical resistivity surveys on three parcels of land north of the city. Electrical resistivity data were collected along a total of 22 transects during March 14–18, 2022, and November 17–21, 2025. Results from electrical resistivity surveys were...
Calcareous nannofossil assemblage changes in the Surprise Hill core and their implications for floral response to the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum across the Salisbury Embayment of Virginia, USA
Masayuki Utsunomiya, Jean Self-Trail, D. Clay Kelly, Xiaodong Zhang, Kristina Frank Gardner, James C. Zachos
2026, Marine Micropaleontology (204)
We present Paleocene-Eocene calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy and paleoecology for the Surprise Hill core, U.S. Atlantic Coastal Plain, Virginia. Calcareous nannofossil datums ranging from Zone NP3 to NP14 were identified. The Danian-aged Brightseat Formation rests unconformably atop the Lower Cretaceous Potomac Group at 211.4 m and disconformably underlies the Aquia Formation at...
Watershed Continuum Monitoring Approach: Combining multiple water quality patterns along stream and river flowpaths to track sources, pathways, and processing of pollutants
Sujay Kaushal, Ashley Mon, Stanley Grant, Paul M. Mayer, Aaron J. Porter, Andrew J. Sekellick, Jason Hamilton Chase, Shantanu Bhide, John D. Jastram, Tammy Newcomer-Johnson, Sydney A. Shelton, Alexis M. Yaculak, Joseph T. Malin, Carly Marcella Maas, Nicholas Salanitri, Daniel J. Silberstein, Steven P. Hohman, Ashley B. Dann, Weston M Slaughter, Megan A. Rippy, Ahmed Monofy, Ruth R. Shatkay, Jenna E. Reimer, Madeleine Seppi, Randi Noel, Julianna Mussa, Bennett Kellmayer, Gwendolyn Sivirichi, Melissa Grese, Walter L.M. Boger, Jeffrey G. Chanat, Shuiwang Duan, Kenneth T. Belt
2026, Ecological Engineering (229)
There is a growing need to improve and expand water quality monitoring approaches to more accurately track the sources, fate, and transport of multiple chemicals and pollutants holistically and quantify the effects of best management practices (BMPs) at the watershed scale. An overarching question raised by scientists, environmental managers, and...
Effects of wildfire on soil hydraulic properties in the western Oregon Cascades
Cedric Pimont, Evan A. Thaler, Brian A. Ebel, Kevin D. Bladon
2026, JGR Biogeosciences (131)
Wildfires can substantially impact the hydrology of forested watersheds, increasing the risk of hydrologic hazards such as flash floods and debris flows. Soil hydraulic properties related to infiltration are a key control in determining the timing and magnitude of these hydrogeomorphic events. In our study, we collected 445 soil cores...
Hydrogeologic framework and conceptual groundwater-flow model of the panhandle and northwest parts of the High Plains (Ogallala) aquifer in Oklahoma, 1998–2022
Amy S. Morris, Colin A. Baciocco, Isaac A. Dale, Chloe Codner, Ethan A. Kirby, Grant M. Graves, Derrick L. Wagner, Eric G. Fiorentino, Alan LePera, Jon E. Sanford, Lara Joy
2026, Scientific Investigations Report 2026-5009
This study was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, to update the hydrogeologic framework and conceptual flow model for the panhandle and northwest parts of the High Plains (Ogallala) aquifer in Oklahoma, which together compose the Ogallala aquifer focus area. The study...
Hazard potential of compound flooding from rainfall, storm surge, and groundwater in coastal New York and Connecticut
Robin L. Glas, Liv M. Herdman, Salme Ellen Cook, Archi Howlader, Kristina Kirkyla Masterson
2026, Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (26) 2169-2188
Compound flood events, the co-occurrence of multiple flood drivers, can result in flood hazard potential exceeding that of any single driver alone. To evaluate compound flooding in a semi-urbanized coastal area, historical records dating back to 1970 are used to study the co-occurrences of high precipitation, storm surge, and shallow...
Quantitative mineral resource assessment of lithium pegmatite deposits in the southern Appalachian orogen
Joshua Mark Rosera, Kelsey Elizabeth Crocker, Laura Pianowski, Jacob T. Murchek, Ashton M. Wiens, Margaret M. Sanders, Lucas Leonidus Evart, Jacob DeAngelo, Graham W. Lederer, Joshua A. Coyan
2026, Natural Resources Research
The first quantitative mineral resource assessment for undiscovered lithium pegmatite deposits in the southern Appalachian region of the United States was conducted. Permissive tracts for lithium pegmatite deposits were delineated by integrating lithological, tectonic, geochemical, geophysical and mineral occurrence data. Lithium pegmatite prospectivity of the tracts was ranked with simplified...
Not so fatal attraction: Captive female Burmese Python lures do not improve wild python detection
Alex D. Potash, Maggie Jones, Michael Kirkland, Jenna Cole, Kristen Hart, Robert A. McCleery
2026, Southeastern Naturalist (25) 191-200
The ongoing invasion of Python bivittatus (Burmese Python; henceforth, Python) across the Greater Everglades Ecosystem (GEE) has led to near total collapse of the affected mammal community over the past few decades. Management efforts to eliminate Pythons and control their spread have been hampered by the Python's low detectability, which may be...
Accounting for emigration reveals high survival and bimodal size at departure from a loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) foraging area
Caroline M. Blommel, Margaret Lamont, William L. Kendall
2026, Marine Biology (173)
The life history of hard-shelled sea turtles includes several ontogenetic shifts in habitat use and these complex permanent emigration patterns can impact estimates of stage-specific population rates, including survival. We developed several multistate mark recapture models to estimate survival of adult and juvenile loggerhead turtles from a coastal bay in...
Tropicalization of the temperate zone: Spatiotemporal variability of winter warming and declining freeze days across the United States
Vincent M. Brown, Derek T. Thompson, Buren B. DeFee, Michael Osland, Barry D. Keim
2026, International Journal of Climatology
We investigate changes in cool-season and winter daily minimum (Tmin) and maximum (Tmax) temperatures, and the occurrence of freeze days, from 1952 to 2024 across the conterminous United States (CONUS). Emphasis is placed on the tropical-temperate transition zone (TTTz) in the southeastern CONUS. During winter, ~70% of the land area...
Variability and consistency in wildfire susceptibility: Insights from a national compilation
Aaron Daniel Russell, Lucas Bair, James R. Meldrum, Todd Hawbaker
2026, International Journal of Wildland Fire (35)
BackgroundWildfire risk in the United States is rising and remains a land management priority. The quantitative wildfire risk assessment (QWRA) framework integrates fuels, topography, weather and values at risk to estimate the potential change in value from wildfire. Within this, response functions (RFs) represent how values respond to fire...
Patterns of floodplain forest mortality and recruitment along the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers: Associations with forest fragmentation and flood inundation
Nathan R. De Jager, Jason J. Rohweder, Molly Van Appledorn, Shelby A. Weiss, Matthew Trumper, Lyle J. Guyon
2026, Landscape Ecology (41)
ContextDifferent rates of floodplain forest recruitment and mortality can reveal important changes in ecosystem processes that drive forest dynamics, resulting in net changes in forest cover, thereby influencing a wide range of river habitat and morphological characteristics.ObjectivesWe evaluated characteristics of forest change areas in the Upper...
Temporal and spatial changes in seismic attenuation associated with inferred fluid migration in the 2016 central Apennines earthquake sequence
Luca Malagnini, Francesco Pio Lucente, Irene Munafo, Douglas S. Dreger, Thomas E. Parsons, Roland Burgmann
2026, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America
Prior work suggests that high‐frequency seismic attenuation acts as a highly sensitive proxy for crustal permeability and fluid mobility in fractured media. We test the hypothesis that the fault system responsible for the 2016–2017 Amatrice–Visso–Norcia–Capitignano sequence acted as an impermeable seal, compartmentalizing pressurized fluids until dynamic rupture triggered widespread fluid...
Refinement of a framework for Moving Aircraft River Velocimetry (MARV) and application to particle tracking along Alaskan rivers
Carl J. Legleiter, Paul J. Kinzel, Mark Laker, Jeff Conaway
2026, Water Resources Research (62)
Information on river velocities enhances understanding flood hazards, evaluating habitat conditions, and predicting the transport of floating materials. In this follow-up study, we used data from two new sites, one with a more complex morphology and the other with a lower suspended sediment concentration, to provide further evidence that Moving...
